Now in its 40th year, the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art and the College of Charleston Studio Art Department are proud to present Young Contemporaries 2025. The annual exhibition is a celebration of talented artists at the College of Charleston. With works selected by a nationally renowned juror, the exhibition reflects the strength and diversity of practice in the School of the Arts’ rigorous programs. Featuring a wide range of media, the exhibition showcases the efforts of the student body at the College.

Allen Frame will serve as the juror and awards judge for Young Contemporaries 2025. 

Concurrent with Young Contemporaries is the Salon des Refusés, showing in the Hill Gallery of the Cato Center for the Arts. The works in the Salon are chosen by Studio Art faculty. The origin of a Salon des Refusés dates to Paris in 1863, when artists who had been rejected from the official Salon caused such a protest that Emperor Napoleon III ordered another exhibition held for them. Among the painters in the original Salon des Refusés were Camille Pissaro, Henri Fantin-Latour, James M. Whistler, and Edouard Manet.

The Young Contemporaries category awards are funded by the Dean’s Excellence Fund for the College of Charleston School of the Arts. The Norton M. Seltzer Prize is funded by Mindelle Seltzer, and the Karin Jurick Prize is funded by the Robert Lange Studios community.

All College of Charleston degree-seeking students enrolled in the Fall 2024/Spring 2025 academic year, including December 2024 graduates, are eligible to submit their work. All majors and levels are encouraged to submit. You do not need to be currently enrolled in a Studio Art course to submit. 

Original (and dry!) artworks completed in 2024 and up to the submission date are eligible for entry. Students may submit up to three artworks per medium (prints, sculptures, etc.). 

All students submitting artworks must include an Artwork Label attached to the back of each artwork submitted AND turn in a Conditions of Submission contract with your entries on Submission Day. You are encouraged to complete these forms PRIOR to dropping off your artwork at the Halsey Institute.

Printed forms will be available at the Halsey Institute or you can download and print them yourself here:

Click here for Artwork Labels

Click here for the Conditions of Submission contract

All students are encouraged to pre-register for your entries here. Please note, you are still expected to bring your artworks to the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art from 10AM – 6PM on Wednesday, January 22 unless campus is closed due to the winter storm. If you have any questions, contact Interim Director & Director of Exhibitions Kaylee Lass at lasskr@cofc.edu.

IMPORTANT DATES:

• Submission Day: Wednesday, January 22, 10 AM – 6 PM, Halsey Institute

• Juror Lecture: Wednesday, January 22, 6 PM, Simons Center Room 380

• Juror Exhibition Opening Reception: Thursday, January 23, 5 – 7 PM, Simons Center Studio Art Gallery

• Accepted Works Announced: Monday, January 27

• Released Works Pick Up Day: Tuesday, January 28, 10 AM – 7 PM

• Opening Reception & Awards Ceremony: Friday, February 7, 4 – 6 PM, Awards Ceremony at 5 PM

• Curator Coffee Club: Saturday, February 21, 10 AM

• Exhibition Dates: February 7 – March 15

• Exhibition Artwork Pick Up Day: Monday, March 17, 10 AM – 7 PM

ADDITIONAL DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION DAY:

• All artworks must be dry to the touch, adhesives must be cured, and charcoal drawings must be sprayed with fixative at the time of submission. This is to protect all student artworks as the jurying process requires a lot of movement behind the scenes. Though your artwork will be handled with care, ignoring this rule puts all submitted works at risk of being damaged.  

• If submitting digital works, please email your submission to lasskr@cofc.edu with the subject line “YC Digital Submission – Artist Name” and include clear instructions for viewer experience and presentation. You may also submit digital works on a flash drive in person on Submission Day. Attach artwork label information to your flash drive or include artwork label information in the body of your emailed submission. 

• If submitting performance or installation works, include a written proposal and photo or video documentation if presented previously. 

• Though your work is best presented to the juror in person, you may submit photographs and/or videos of oversized works that you are not able to transport on submission day. Please include where the artwork is currently located. Selected artworks must be delivered to the Halsey Institute by Monday, February 3.  

• Singular artworks presented with multiple parts (diptychs, etc. but not series) may be considered as one work. Please include photographs and/or instructions on the orientation of the works. The juror may use their discretion to isolate a portion of the work due to exhibition space.  

• Major prizes including Best in Show, the Norton M. Seltzer Prize, and the Karin Jurick Prize are not restricted by category. Category-specific prizes will be awarded in Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Photography, and Sculpture. Artworks submitted in these categories that are not selected by the juror will be eligible for exhibition in the Salon des Refuses.

Still have questions? Contact Interim Director & Director of Exhibitions Kaylee Lass at lasskr@cofc.edu.